Generally, the functionalities of electronic devices are extended variously by attaching IC cards such as SD (secure digital) cards and MEMORY STICK DUO (trademark) cards to the electronic devices through IC card connectors. In order to allow multiple IC cards of different shapes to be inserted and used in one electronic device, IC card connectors having a card slot common to the IC cards and a combined card accommodation portion which the IC cards are selectively detachable and attachable on a one-by-one basis, has been proposed for example, as shown in Patent Literature 1.
In such an IC card connector including the combined card accommodation portion, card accommodation portion are formed to extend in a direction in which the IC cards are attached or detached and are hierarchically formed each other while partially overlapping each other. For example, as shown in FIGS. 33 to 35 of Patent Literature 1, the card accommodation portions are separated by a partition which is pressed down by a card guide when an SD card is mounted. A part of each card accommodation portion is individually provided with a group of contact terminals corresponding to contact pads of each IC card. Soldered fixed terminals of the contact terminals in each contact terminal group are press-fitted into and supported by a common rear wall forming the card accommodation portion. Moreover, the contact terminals have their respective contact portions to come into contact with the contact pads of each IC card when the IC card is mounted to the combined card accommodation portion, and the contact portions all extend in the same direction toward the common card slot.
Furthermore, for example, as shown in a relationship between a MEMORY STICK PRO DUO (trademark) card and a MEMORY STICK PRO-HG DUO (trademark) card, in case that a plurality of IC cards different from each other in data transfer rates, some of IC cards have the same outer dimensions but are equipped with electrode pads in different arrangements among them. Even the IC cards in the above case may be sometimes required to be mounted to a common card accommodation portion in a common card connector.